Fluid dispensing assembly



1951 E. G. LUCIE ET AL 3,010,454

FLUID DISPENSING ASSEMBLY Filed April 14, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS Ez/egyn GI. .Zza'z and'walferfipopp ATTOFNE'K Nov. 28, 1961 E. G. LUCIE EIAL 3,010,454

FLUID DISPENSING ASSEMBLY Filed April 14, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS Evel n Gzzzc'z arzJ ZY/afferjfR ATTORNEY),

United States Patent 3,010,454 FLUID DISPENSING ASSEMBLY Evelyn G. Lucie, East Aurora, N. Y. (11850 Edgewater Drive, Lakewood 7, Ohio), and Walter H. Popp, Buffalo, N.Y.; said Popp assignor to said Lucie Filed Apr. 14, 1960, Ser. No. 22,320 2 Claims. (Cl. 128-251) This invention relates to a douche assembly and more particularly to a vaginal or rectal douche assembly in which a suitable nozzle is introduced into either the vagina or'rectum or other aperture of a human or animal body. After insertion of the nozzle, a suitable valve, that controls the flow of fluid to said nozzle, is opened in the usual and well known manner, and said nozzle then supplied with the customary therapeutic fluid fed under low pressure.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a convenient, light and portable douche assembly in which the therapeutic fluid is supplied by a convenient, renewable aerosol can or container, instead of the usual soft rubber container, which has to be hung on the wall to provide the proper fluid pressure. Another object of the invention is to provide a pressure regulator in series with the aerosol container so that varying pressures in the aerosol container will be ironed out before the therapeutic fluid in said aerosol container passes to the douche nozzle. Other objects of the invention and practical solutions thereof are described in detail in the following description and in the accompanying drawings wherein,

FIG. 1 is a diminutive side elevation of a complete vaginal douche assembly.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, longitudinal section through the vaginal nozzle of FIG. 1 and the parts associated therewith.

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are horizontal sections through the vaginal nozzle, taken on correspondingly numbered lines of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary, longitudinal section through the outer end of the vaginal nozzle, taken on line 66 FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary section, partly in section, of a modified form of vaginal nozzle provided with a rectal adapter nozzle 41 which transforms the whole assembly into a rectal douche assembly.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary, longitudinal section, somewhat similar to FIG. 2, but illustrating a rectal nozzle 41b mounted directly in an aerosol container 10.

FIGS. 1 through 6 The receptacle for holding the therapeutic fluid which is to be used in the douche nozzle is, in this invention, an aerosol container 10, which is provided with the usual tilt valve (not shown) whose tapered stem 11 extends centrally and longitudinally upward from the top face of said aerosol container 10.

The vaginal nozzle 12 has a conical nozzle base 13 which is adapted to fit over said tapered valve stem 11. The valve (not shown) in the aerosol container 10, of which this tapered valve stem 11 is a part, is either of the ball and socket type or the tilt type, or is otherwise opened by tilting or tipping said valve stem 11. To prevent this valve stem from being subjected to unnecessarily high stresses due to it being tilted too far, the nozzle base 13 is provided with an annular skirt 14 whose lower outer, edge strikes the top face of the aerosol container when the valve of said container has been fully opened. Any further tilting of the valve stem 11 is then prevented by said skirt 14, as indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 1.

This tapered valve stem 11 is provided with a central, shallow, annular groove 15 bounded on its lateral edges with a pair of deeper, annular, side grooves 16 and 17.

3,010,454 Patented Nov. 28, 1961 Received within all three of said grooves is a rubber ring 18 whose inner face is exposed to the fluid pressure within an annular groove or channel 20. Fluid pressure to said channel is supplied by a pair of radial holes 21 whose inner ends open off from a vertical duct 22 which is formed coaxially and longitudinally in the valve stem 11.

Outwardly of said rubber ring 18, the nozzle base 13 is provided with an annular groove 23 which is concave in cross section. When the valve stem 11 is vertical (as shown in FIG. 2), the valve with which it is associated is closed, and there is, consequently, no fluid pressure in duct 22. Under these circumstances, the rubber ring 18 is in the position shown by full lines in FIG. 2, and said ring does not impede the pushing into place of said nozzle base 13 on the valve stem 11, or the sliding up and off ofsaid nozzle base 13 from said valve stem. However, when the nozzle 12 is in actual operation, the aerosol container 10 is tilted relatively to it, as shown by dotted lines in FIG. 1, and there is fluid pressure in duct 22. At this time it is important that there be a fluid-tight seal between the valve stem 11 and the nozzle base 13. This fluid tightness is provided by the rubber ring 18 which, under the influence of fluid pressure, is forced outwardly (as indicated by the dotted lines in FIG. 2) into sealing contact with the curvilinear, inner face of the annular groove 23.

Extending integrally above said nozzle base 13 is a nozzle neck 24, whose upper end in turn, is integrally connected with the nozzle proper 12. Formed coaxially in the nozzle neck 24 is a duct 25 whose lower end is adapted to receive therapeutic fluid from the hollow, tapered, valve stem 11, and to discharge said fluid into a somewhat enlarged bore 26 that is formed coaxially in the nozzle 12. This bore 26 receives the hollow stem 27 of a mushroomshaped, flow-adjusting head 28, having its upper end of inverted conical form.

Between said flow-adjusting head 28 and the nozzle 12 is a silicone or rubber pressure regulator 30 having an outer longitudinal flange 31 and an inner longitudinal flange 32. This pressure regulator is generally cylindrical in shape and fits within a large cylindrical hole 33 that is formerly in the upper end of the nozzle 12. The hollow stem 27 of the flow-adjusting head 28 is drilled radially at 34, so that the space within the hole 33 contains fluid at the same pressure .as that in the nozzle bore 26. Hence, whenever the aerosol valve is opened and the douche assembly is in operation, full fluid pressure exists is said hole 33 and presses the outer flange 31 of the pressure regulator radially outwardly, and, at the same time, presses the inner flange 32 of said pressure regulator radially inwardly. This assures a fluid-tight seal between the pressure regulator and the nozzle 12, and also between said pressure regulator and the flow-adjusting head 28.

The upper end of the hollow stem 27 of said flow-adjusting head 28 is radially drilled at 35 to carry the therapeutic fluid from the bore of said stem 27 into an annular groove 36 which is formed in the pressure regulator 30. Leading ofl? from said annular groove 36 are a plurality of slits or grooves 37 which are formed symmetrically in the outer, inverted, conical face of the flow-adjusting head 23. When the douche assembly in in operation, these grooves 37 provide the desired vaginal douche spray. An additional hole 38 is drilled coaxially in the upper end of the flow adjusting head 28 to furnish a longitudinal, as

- well as a lateral spray.

Intermediate its stem 27 and its largest outer diameter, the flow-adjusting head 28 is provided with a shallow, annular groove 40. When the aerosol container 10 is new and fresh and its pressure consequently high, the central, conical web of the pressure regulator 30 is pushed sufliciently far into this groove 40 to throttle down the pressure of the fluid passing out of the grooves 37, and thereby to have a volume of flow substantially the same as the rectal douche. adapter 41 and the vaginal nozzle 12a reasonably fluidvolume emitted from the nozzle 12 when the aerosol container is practically empty and its pressure relatively low.

The pressure regulating member 30 has, for convenience, been referred to as a pressure regulator, because it is the chief component of those parts which collectively do the pressure regulating. It is to be understood, however, that the pressure regulator as shown in this invention consists of not only this main pressure-regulating, rubber component 30, but also of this one component 30 in combination with the flow-adjusting head 28 and, to some extent, the nozzle 12.

It is also desirable to adjust (in addition to automatically regulating) the volume of fluid flow. As a constant volume of flow is to be desired, this adjustment is preferably made at the factory. This flow-adjustment is efieoted in the factory by having the stem 27 of the flow-regulating head 28 press-fitted into the bore 26. This permits said flow-regulating head 28 to be power-pushed (pressfitted) downwardly until the flow of fluid for a given pressure is reduced to the desired amount. Being a press fit,

the adjustment of the flow-adjusting head will be perma- V nent in field use, but, at the same time, permits said flowadjusting head be removed in the factory when repairs are required.

This douche assembly of FIGS. 1 through 6, when suitably modified dimensionally, can also be used to spray the throat or the bronchial tubes, etc.

FIG. 7

This modification of the invention consists of a modified vaginal nozzle 12a and a probe or douche adapter 41 which permits the douche assembly to be used as a To make the joint between this douche tight, said vaginal nozzle 12a is provided with male threads 42 which are tapered in the same manner as an ordinary pipe thread. Such a pipe thread, if of ordinary form, at the distal end of said vaginal nozzle 12a would, however, be liable to lacerate the vaginal tissues. Consequently, in the present invention, these male threads 42 are rounded in the same fashion as the threads of an ordinary light bulb.

FIG. 8

This form of the invention is adapted for use as either a rectal douche or as a douche for some similar use, such as -a nose, car etc. douche. In this case the rectal probe or rectal type of nozzle 41b, has the same general form, exteriorly, as the rectal adapter 41 of FIG. 7. But the .nozzle base of this rectal type nozzle 13b has its upper and lower ends formed similarly, respectively, to the upper 4 end of nozzle 12 (of FIGS. 1 through 6) and the lower end of the nozzle base 13 (of said FIGS. 1 through 6). In addition, the lower end 27b of the rectal probe or rectal type nozzle 41b is constructed substantially like the lower end of the flow-adjusting head 28 of FIGS. 1 through 6, and, in a simular manner, is press-fitted into the bore 26b of the nozzle base 13b.

This type of the invention can also be used to treat hemorrhoids, intestinal worms, constipation, to dissolve kidney stones, etc.

General consideration The drawings which accompany this specification disclose only vaginal and rectal douches. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not to be confined to douche assemblies of this character only, but is to include any means of injecting a therapeutic fluid or other fluid into an orifice of the body of a human being or an animal, or, in fact, to the introducing of any fluid or viscous material into any orifice or area where a convenient, portable, fluid-introducing or fluid dispensing assembly is desirable.

We claim:

1. A fluid dispensing assembly comprising: a receptacle which contains fluid under pressure; a nozzle; and a pressure regulator tubularly connected with said recep tacle and also with said nozzle, and having a groove, and: provided with a flexible, elastic web which overlies said groove and which is responsive to changes of fluid pressure in said receptacle, being adapted to increasingly retract toward said groove as the fluid pressure in said groove decreases and to increasingly move away from said groove as the fluid pressure in said groove increases.

2. A fluid dispensing assembly as in claim 1 with the flexible web of the pressure regulator being subjected on its one face to the pressure of the fluid passing through the groove, and being subjected on its other face to the pressure of the fluid in the receptacle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 559,417 Spencer May 5, 1896 1,274,702 Fox Aug. 6, 1918 1,527,222 Rasmussen Feb. 24, 1925 1,719,163 Bergl July 2, 1929 2,043,882 Cheek June 9, 1936 2,523,906 Holmes Sept. 26, 1950 2,652,282 Willetts Sept. 15, 1953 2,870,767 Bowen Jan. 27, 1959 2,945,494 Bowen Julyl9, 1960 

